The historical Scottsboro Trial and the fictional trial of Tom Robinson in the book To Kill a Mockingbird have striking similarities that may or may not be coincidence. Both trials took place in Alabama during the same era of relentless prejudice and bias, which is a major factor in each of these cases. In both cases, the accusers were white women and the persecutors were black men; therefore the black men were immediately considered liars and “wrongdoers”, unlike the word of the white women, which was essentially the truth above the word of someone who was black. Even when the persecutors in these cases had a possible chance of being declared innocent, mobs of citizens formed to threaten them, many of whom were simply racist against blacks. As is evident in these trials, most white people could easily accuse a black person of a crime whether they committed it or not and unjustly get away with it. Many events occurred in the Scottsboro trials that also happened in To Kill a Mockingbird during Tom Robinson’s case. One night a group of black men and white women were riding a train and were arrested for vagrancy. Once speaking to the police, the women accused all of the black men of gang raping them, and, naturally, their word was taken over the accused black men, despite the women’s history of prostitution. Many witnesses supported the black men; one associate of the accusers refused to support the lies of the white women; one physician said that two of the men were badly crippled, and thus incapable of committing the crime. This was very similar to Tom Robinson’s trial. Tom also had a crippled arm and appeared to be physically unable to rape and beat the white woman who accused him of doing such. There was also very little eviden... ... middle of paper ... ... past. Both Atticus and Judge Horton fought for the equality and fair treatment of blacks in the court, although nearly all the witnesses, townspeople, and jurors showed bias against the black men, despite the fact that there was very little evidence that suggested they had in fact committed the crime they were accused of. It seems like the book was made after the actual Scottsboro Case. The similarities of these two trials continue from the beginning to the end of the cases, both coming to the same conclusion that the only fair outcome would be reached by the Supreme Court. The only major difference between the two trials is perhaps the most amazing of all the comparisons; the outcome in the real-life event freed 9 falsely accused black men against all odds, while in the fictional trial a black man was discriminatorily killed, an unfortunate yet more common event.
The Scottsboro Trials, Brown v. Mississippi, and trial of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee historically criticizes the Scottsboro trials with her book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee uses factual information as well as altering certain aspects of the trial in order to convey her theme, how the southern culture heavily protects its white womanhood. She accomplishes this by going into detail about how badly black men were stereotyped, about racial discrepancies, and disregarding contradictory evidence.
The Scottsboro and Maycomb trials took place in the 1930s, where the trials both have identical causes with the same conclusion, though its a tragedy event that happened however it have influenced the world today. The resemblance between Scottsboro and Maycomb leads the people into thinking about the Great Depression and the most infamous case that took place in Scottsboro, relating to Maycomb. Though there are no reasonable causes or hateful affairs between opposing characters, yet it seems like racism between white and the Afro-Americans had started the conflict. Coming to a white vs Afro-American cases, the jurors would always favor the white over the Afro-American for they believe its not right to do such thing as acquitting the Afro-American due to their old-fashion values and prejudiced mind. Such tragedy happening in the history has influenced the world today in many ways, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is one project that’s inspired to be written. Though both Scottsboro and Maycomb seems like a loving town with nice people, however their dark sides are discovered through their actions.
When Scout complains about her teacher, Atticus tells her that “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 33). In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch teaches his daughter moral values as he prepares to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been charged with raping a white woman. Harper Lee was influenced by court cases that were based on the racial prejudice of blacks. One of those cases was the Scottsboro Trial of 1931, in which nine African American males were falsely accused of raping two white women while on a train to Memphis. The trial began on April 6, 1931, and lasted just three days. Eight of the nine boys were found guilty and sentenced to death. Because the Scottsboro Boys’ first trial was appealed, it was sent to the Alabama Supreme Court, and then sent to the United States Supreme Court. The Court ordered new trials because the Scottsboro defendants had not had adequate legal representation. (Gerdes 250). The case against one of the boys, Haywood Patterson, began in Decatur, Alabama, on March 27 with Judge James Horton presiding. During this trial one of the white girls, Ruby Bates, said they were not raped while two physicians concluded that the girls were not raped either. On April 9, 1933, the first defendant, Haywood Patterson, was sentenced to execution, but Judge Horton ordered a new trial because the evidence did not warrant conviction. Even though the novel is fictional and the court case is real, the trial of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Scottsboro Boys trial were similar be...
Tom Robinson, the defendant, was accused of raping and beating a local, white girl. Although Atticus is quite positive his client didn 't commit the disturbing crime, Tom 's race and history are not in his favor. Nevertheless, Atticus proceeds with the trial and skillfully uses persuasive techniques, such as diction, imagery, and tone, and rhetorical appeals to fight for what he presumes is morally right.
The Scottsboro Trial which was during the Great Depression had many racial issues began to bubble up, which contributed to the outcome of the cases. The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird, on the other hand, took place during the Civil Rights Movement where you could not turn a corner without seeing some sort of racial segregation or protest, for or even against African-Americans. In all three, however, different communities were forced to face the tensions between the unsettled issue of racism in the South and the white society during different time periods.
To begin, parallel and conflicting characteristics can be realized by exploring the judges of the two cases. Judge Horton and Judge Taylor both presided over the cases. Judge Horton was the second of three judges in the Scottsboro cases, and Judge Taylor was the fictional judge in To Kill a Mockingbird. The two both exhibited undeniable sympathy to the defendants in the cases. Judge Horton sympathizes with the nine Scottsboro boys by declaring, “You are not trying whether or not the defendant is white or black … you are trying whether or not this defendant forcibly ravished a woman” (People and Events). It is obvious that Judge Horton was unprejudiced and believed the boys should be treated with equality. This attitude is akin to the one of Judge Taylor; Taylor assigned Atticus Finch, a notable lawyer, to the case of the fictional black character Tom Robinson. Maxwell Green, an inexperience rookie, should have been assigned the case; however due to Taylor’s empathy, Tom obtained a decent lawyer who would do h...
Parallels and bias were shown in both cases, every racist witness showed bias to the black men who were accused. The major characters that were involved with the trial were similar too. Both Atticus and Judge Horton fought for the equal treatment of blacks in the judicial system as the whites. The accusers of the black men were similar too; it seems like the book was made after the actual Scottsboro Case. The time that both of the trials took place in were exactly the same as well. Every single aspect of both of the trials is the same except for the outcomes. One outcome was that they men got away which was amazing because it was real life and the other was more realistic that the black man was killed and the racists had their justice served.
In Harper Lee’s fictional novel To Kill A Mockingbird, an African American field hand is falsely accused of raping a white women. Set in the 1930’s in the small town of Monroeville Alabama, Addicus Finch an even handed white attorney tries to shed a light on the injustice of this innocent black man’s conviction. Atticus feels that the justice system should be color blind, and he defends Tom as an innocent man, not a man of color.
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee's only novel, is a fictional story of racial oppression, set in Maycomb, A.L. in 1925 to 1935, loosely based on the events of the Scottsboro trials. Unlike the story however, the racial discrimination and oppression in the novel very accurately portrays what it was like in the 1920's and 1930's in the south. Tom Robinson, the black man accused of raping a poor low class white girl of 19, never stood a chance of getting a fair trial. This can be supported by giving examples of racially discriminatory and oppressive events that actually took place in the south during the time period in which the novel is based. In addition to actual historical events, events and examples from the book that clearly illustrate the overpoweringly high levels of prejudice that were intertwined in the everyday thinking of the majority of the characters in the book supports the fact that Tom Robinson never stood a chance of getting a fair trial.
...tional stage with the Scottsboro trials, which became the inspiration for Harper Lee’s burning expeditionary work of fiction, To Kill a Mockingbird, in which she employs a tone critical of racism. The two cases, fictional and real, shared many stunning similarities, such as the preservation of southern womanhood and police brutality, as well as minor differences such as the attitudes of the accusers. The great tragedy of both cases is best exemplified by Atticus Finch’s declaration that “this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271).
In To Kill A Mockingbird Lee tells the story of a Mr. Tom Robinson who is an African American who is being charged with rape against a white women. Atticus is the lawyer who must defend Robinson in court. In the Scottsboro case a central figure was a heroic judge who overturned a guilty verdict against the young men. The judge went against the public in trying to protect the rights of the African American men. In reading the novel you learn that Atticus arouses anger in the small community when he tries to defend Robinson.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee seems like a complete replica of the lives of people living in a small Southern U.S. town. The themes expressed in this novel are as relevant today as when this novel was written, and also the most significant literary devices used by Lee. The novel brings forward many important themes, such as the importance of education, recognition of inner courage, and the misfortunes of prejudice. This novel was written in the 1930s. This was the period of the “Great Depression” when it was very common to see people without jobs, homes and food. In those days, the rivalry between the whites and the blacks deepened even more due to the competition for the few available jobs. A very famous court case at that time was the Scottsboro trials. These trials were based on the accusation against nine black men for raping two white women. These trials began on March 25, 1931. The Scottsboro trials were very similar to Tom Robinson’s trial. The similarities include the time factor and also the fact that in both cases, white women accused black men.
The Scottsboro Trial and the Tom Robinson Trial are almost identical in the forms of racism and prejudice shown and the the actual trial and the trials outcome. The racism and prejudice is clear and is a key factor throughout both cases, which took place in the same time period. Both trials are very common when it came to the time period, the time the trials have taken place in, those who were persecuted and lastly, why they were persecuted in the first place. “All blacks were liars, and always was not to be trusted was a major part of all of these trails” was the thought during this time. Someone that was white was believed no matter what when it came to a black mans word. Both trials were perfect examples of how the white people of Alabama were above the law. They showed that they could do whatever they wanted to the black people and get away with it. Examples in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Portrayed similar factual evidence that the Tom Robinson trial and the Scottsboro Trial are similar.
One of the major events in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson’s trial. It is based on the Scottsboro Case that took place in 1931 in Alabama, in which several black men were accused of raping two white women. Both the Scottsboro Boys and Tom Robinson are unfairly judged, however, because of prejudice against colored people. The racial discrimination makes whites’ testimony more believable even when it contradicts itself. The same happens in To Kill a Mockingbird. As we delve deeper into the case and get increasingly closer to the truth, it is quite suprising to see that Mayella Ewell is the true villain rather than a victim. She shall and must bear full responsibility for her actions because she makes the decision to tempt Tom Robinson, gives false testimony in court that directly leads to Tom’s death, and has been well aware of the consequences of her behaviors.